Thorin rolled over letting out a groan of discomfort. His body ached and throbbed from his run in with Azog the Defiler, and he longed to slip into that halfway world of sleep. However the pains in his body would not permit it. He sat up and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. When he took them away he blinked to clear his vision, and gazed moodily into the fire. A bit of movement near to him caught his attention. Turning his head, his hand tightening on the hilt of his sword, he sighed in relief when he saw it was just Baya; rolling over in her sleep. She muttered something unintelligible her tiny face screwed up. She was clutching her stomach, and for a moment Thorin thought he saw her crying. He must have been imagining it though, for when Baya sat up with a huff her eyes were quite dry.

"Baya?" Thorin gave a quiet chuckle when Baya nearly jumped out her skin. She swiveled her head around trying to spot who had called out her name. When her eyes adjusted to the dark, they found his and she gave a hesitant smile.

"Thorin, why aren't you asleep?" Her voice was quite, hardly making a dent in the midnight silence.

"I could ask the same, for you." A smile tugged at his lips as he watched her shrugged after a moment, and sat up; leaning against a nearby tree.

"How are you feeling?" She whispered.

"Fine," replied Thorin, and even though he would never admit it; he wasn't fine. Baya nodded thoughtfully peering into the darkness.

"I'm sorry." Baya turned to face him again,a look of confusion crossing her small face.

"What ever for?"

"For doubting you, yelling at you, being unnecessarily rude." Thorin swallowed hard and glanced away. He heard the sounds of shuffling and a soft hand touched his arm gingerly. He looked into her bright blue eyes as she smiled at him.

"I forgive you." She settled next to him with a sigh, staring off into space;her eyes thoughtful. Thorin noticed that her hand strayed to her stomach, hovering over it. Her face was slightly pinched and she looked a little pale.

"Baya, are you okay?" Her focus snapped back into the present and she quickly pulled her hand away.

"I'm fine," she whispered, her voice barely audible. Thorin studied her face carefully noting the beads of sweat appearing on her brow, and the way she was biting her lip.

"I don't think you are." Baya shook her head her hand straying to her stomach again.

'It's nothing," She whispered in reply, "Just a scratch."

"Well let's see it." Thorin rose with a groan from where he was sitting and shuffled over to his pack. He dug around in his pack for a moment pulling out a some wrinkled bandages and a bottle of alcohol.

"What's that for?" She squeaked when he settled next to her again, placing the bottle of alcohol near her feet.

"Disinfection." He replied. Baya nodded but her eyes were wide. Thorin knelt in front of her and gently helped her out of her coat, vest, and then sweater until she was just left in her shirt. Baya seemed nervous and kept glancing around. Thorin carefully undid a few buttons so he could access her stomach, and yet still insure modesty. He sucked in his breath when he finally had access to her stomach and could see what lay beneath.

Baya's slim stomach was littered with large dark bruises ranging in color from black to yellow. She had a large laceration stretching from side to side and several smaller cuts and scrapes.

"What in Durin's name happened to you?" Gasped Thorin in disbelief. Baya looked down at her stomach in surprise. After a long pause she raised her head and met his eyes.

"I fell."

"What do you mean?"

"I fell. In the Goblin Tunnels, when they were all herding us away, I fell; of the side of the platform." Her breath hitched as if remembering the terrifying plunge into the dark below. "That's why I wasn't with the group I fell." She finished lamely. Thorin stared at her intently.

"By Durin's name Baya Baggins you are the luckiest being in Middle Earth." A tiny smile appeared on her face. "I still don't understand how you are alive." Baya shrugged. Thorin took the bottle of alcohol and poured a little onto a wad of bandage. He dabbed the wad of bandages onto the cut frowning as Baya hissed in pain.

"I'm sorry, I'm trying not to hurt you."

Baya nodded, "I know." Wrapping the cut in as many bandages as he could spare, he helped Baya back into her other clothes.

"Here chew this, it should help with the pain." Thorin handed her a couple of ordinary leaves. Baya looked at them quizzically but popped them in her mouth. She chewed, screwing her face up at the odd flavor. "Now go back to sleep." Baya nodded and yawned crawling over to her mat and falling asleep. Thorin watched over her late into the night ensuring that nothing would happen to their precious burglar.